Nashville/Phoenix Finishes Up, But Still Low

Despite having a big lead-in from another overtime game between the Rangers and Capitals, few stuck around to see the conclusion of the Phoenix Coyotes defeat of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Game 5 of the series drew 707,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network (the game began around 10:25 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with the first 10 minutes or so airing on CNBC due to the overtime of Washington/New York) up 7% from Game 4 (660,000) but still down from the first two games of the series.

In Phoenix, the game scored a 4.6 rating, the highest ever for an NHL game in that market. NBC Sports Network was the #1 cable network in the Phoenix market for the entire game.

Nashville/Phoenix averaged 632,000 viewers over five broadcasts (four on NBCSN, one on CNBC). That’s up 3% from last year’s Nashville/Vancouver series, which averaged 610,000 viewers over six broadcasts (all on VERSUS).

Game 3 was severely affected by the glitch in Comcast programming guide. Biggest complaint the next day was that no one could find the game because Comcast listed American Greed as what was showing rather than the Predators’ game.

Late start times on the West Coast do suck. Games in the Pacific Time Zone should probably start at 6:30 PST just to give viewers on the East Coast and Central Time Zone a chance to watch more of the games.